Saturday, February 21, 2015

If you're convinced you chronicle less and less with each child (my mother) then this is score one for Team Polly. It seems I've blinked and my baby is three months old. I semi wave the white flag, okay?! Four kids have been tough- mentally and physically tough. But, that's a whole different blog post all together. This is all about my sweet baby, Quin. From birth to three months....

This was taken about a week old. Sweet, sweet, sweet! From the second he was born overwhelming joy and happiness filled our house.

I've never been much of a T.V. watcher, but in the time since he's been born I've clocked more T.V. hours than humanly possible. I will remember a lot of his life by what show I was watching. This first month was filled with 'Call the Midwife.' A BBC show that chronicles a group of midwives in the poorest corner of 1950's London. Quin was easy to please during this month, as long as he was held and nursed, he was happy. I happily obliged.

Month two we watched House of Cards. Great show about corruption and politics. We entered this month already having lots of smiles from Quintin. When I would tell people how happy and easy he was they would say "Well, what else could he be, he's the fourth child?! He can't be high maintenance." Perhaps that's true, but I would like to think GOD purposely blessed us with a happy, easy going baby. He was born this way to be the cherry on our Bruiser sundae. I was starting to get some four hour stretches of sleep at night which made for a very happy Momma.

Month three has kicked off with 'Orange is the New Black.' A show about a women's prison, filled with interesting back stories and a lot of foul language (sorry Grandma). It's the kind of show that I have to watch on the Ipad, late at night, when the kids are in bed. Quintin goes to sleep between 11 p.m. and midnight and sleeps until 6-7 a.m. Try as I might I can't get him to sleep before 11 p.m., I know this time will pass quickly so I'm enjoying the extra snuggle time. Some time between two and three months we found Q's giggle. Hearing him laugh is the highlight of my day! Sleep, smiles, laughing, and snuggling-- what more could I ask for?!

Sunday, December 21, 2014

It started with a green outfit about 43 years ago. From Russell it passed to Steven and from there it was stored until Harrison tried it on many years later. It has since become a tradition to put the Bergman grandbabies in the beloved suit. I love looking at all the boys in their Daddy's outfit. Hopefully it survives another twenty years so I can see another generation carry the tradition.

Monday, December 1, 2014

When we found out we were having a fourth boy the discussion turned into who would be the lucky one to share a room. Gavin quickly volunteered to share his space saying, "I can share a room with the baby because now I know how to read and when the baby wakes up in the night I can read him a book until he falls back asleep." So surprised by his sweet offer, I told Gavin we would give him a new room makeover for him and his baby brother.

But, first what to do with all of Gavin's superhero stuff? Pass it onto his younger brother, Cannon, who equally loves superheros. Cannon was super excited to get his new look!

I did get a couple new additions to make Cannon's room special to him.

I love how it turned out!

"I'm not saying I'm Batman.
I'm just saying no one has ever seen me and Batman in the same room together."

I have a love of putting together furniture. Ikea furniture is the biggest challenge--little to no instructions and lots of pieces brings the biggest satisfaction when you see it to completion.

An almost life size Spider-Man keeps Cannon company.

Gavin poured over Pinterest pictures of boys room and settled on a Rock 'n Roll theme. Initially, I wasn't clear how to make a shared room between a six year-old and newborn gel together, but after a little Etsy shopping I was assured I could make this work!

Over the bed is a sign that reads 'Big brothers Rock, Little brothers Roll'

Four brothers and a rock 'n roll theme means you must have a cool band name! We all came up with different ideas and band names, but 'The Bergstie Boys' fit them perfectly. This took me forever to apply to the wall. I have told the boys they'll likely not reach adulthood if they touch or mess with this decal.

This is another Etsy purchase.

'Rock a bye baby on the rooftop, when the song plays, make the beat drop, when the crowd screams sing louder once more, and on will rock baby forever adored.'

It looks perfect over Quin's crib.

I know, I know, another sign in the room. I went a little crazy shopping on Etsy! But, this one was too cute to pass up!

A clock on an old Beatles album.

The lockers we bought at Ikea (more furniture I got to put together. yeah!) and they hold Quintin's clothes. Gavin was more than willing to share his room, but closet space? That's where he drew the line! Nothing comes between Gavin and his clothes. Not even a cute baby brother. The opening framed in wood that still needs to be painted is another project we added to the room. It opens to a smaller space that is large enough to hold a queen mattress and it's Gavin's hideaway bed. He loves sleeping in there and on the weekends Cannon joins him.

I saw this on Etsy, but this was one project I thought I could do myself. A frame, galvanized metal, fabric, a plexiglass cover, and viola! you have a magnetic board to display your school work. Initially I made the board with glass and within 24 hours Cannon broke the glass by throwing the magnet discs. I replaced it with a more Bruiser friendly plexiglass. *Sigh* the perils of boys.

This guitar was given to Harrison from my Dad years ago.

I thought this hand was a fun way to display it on the wall.

I would like to add more to this album cover collection, but for now only album on display is Uncle Justin's band 'Saw Wheel.'

This is the view from the other side of Gavin's special bed. We cut an opening on the opposite side that leads into the upstairs game room. When the secret door is closed it looks like a bookcase. This fulfills one of Steve's lifetime dreams of having a secret room in his house. Although Gavin loves his bed, I think Steve and I find it waaay cooler. It feels very 'Punky Brewster' to me, one of my childhood favorites! Side note- this door/book case is still needing to be painted. Anyone want to come over and help with my honey do list?!

When the secret door is closed you think it's just your average built-in book case on the wall.

All artwork questions can be directed towards Steve. The Andy Warhols and bizarre skeleton are all his pick outs. It's the upstairs living room and I choose my battles.

Our bedroom makeovers was a success!

The upstairs is filled with boys and short of having a urinal installed the area is made just for them.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

I remember feeling very anxious the night before my c-section. Being my fourth time 'round I knew the risk of complications were much greater. Knowing I would be strapped down, unable to feel below my chest, awake while having my body sliced and diced is all an extremely unnerving feeling that kept me awake most of the night. Steve had loaded some happy-go-lucky songs for me to listen to as a distraction. Every time I hear Taylor Swifts' 'shake it off' I'm instantly taken back to that moment. From start to finish was a little over an hour and as I being wheeled out of the operating room I threw a huge prayer of thanks for what was the smoothest c-section ever! It was like 'mic drop', couldn't be better, going out on a high note!

Our first family photo as a family of six! All of the kids were so genuinely happy we didn't have to coerce smiles. Oh my, we've officially entered into the butt-load of kids kinda family!

We spent our first hours doing skin-to-skin and nursing. I remember the perfection continued and this was my best recovery of all my babies. No nausea, vomiting, pain, or overwhelming sleepiness. I felt good and just loved being able to finally hold my baby. I kept thinking to myself how blessed I was to have had four successful pregnancies and four healthy babies. It was a peace I can't put into words.

Almost as exciting as me meeting Quintin was watching my kids meet him. They were all so genuinely happy and joyous to meet their newest brother.

So many eyes to give him the once-over he had to be placed on the bed so everyone could look at the same time.

Q was patient as he was passed around the room making his formal introductions. I loved watching my boys shower him with love and affection.

Such a beautiful face.

When all the visitors and busyness of the day settled down we were left with just Dad, Mom, and baby. It was quiet and peaceful (nothing like what the rest of his life would be like) and we enjoyed the hours of bonding just with our little guy. I think we truly felt a sense of completion, finality, and perfection in what was now our family.

Friday, October 31, 2014

There are some people in my life that I feel truly lucky to know. Our family photographer, Amber, is one of them. She is a genuinely good person, has amazing talent, and is able to capture my boys' personality without even breaking a sweat. We took these pictures in October at a park near Eagle Mountain Lake. They couldn't have turned out any better!

Monday, September 8, 2014

My kids love going to Ohio to see all our family. I am from a small town, Versailles, Ohio that houses a little town surrounded by a lot of farms. My Uncle Mark and Aunt Peg live on one of those farms. No trip to Versailles is complete without Gavin making a trip to the farm. Here's a little looksey at Gavin's recent farming adventure- this trip was especially special for Gavin because he had the undivided attention of both Aunt Peg and Aunt Pat. A farm and solo attention?? This boy was in heaven!

First things first, Gavin had to be outfitted with some farming shoes. What are farming shoes? They'd be shoes or boots that can handle being covered in poop, dirt, muck, and anything else farm living would harvest. Being from the city and all we don't own such shoes, but thank goodness for Aunt Peg's ability to improvise and turn some city shoes into some good ol' covered-in-plastic farming shoes.

Gathering cousin Noah's famous eggs is always a must when Gavin visits the farm. These eggs have won 'Best in Show' at Poultry Days for many years in a row. Gavin searched high and low, even climbing over a mountain of manure to reach a lone egg, his motto was 'leave no egg behind.'

Who knew chickens could give hugs??

I don't know if this is a hug as much as it is a firm squeeze into submission.

Gavin has been asking for a pet rabbit almost daily since his visit to the farm.

Aunt Peg said Gavin insisted on using the finger-severing sheers himself to cut the lettuce. He brought me back all the fixings for a home grown salad and it was amazing.

And, alas, no farming adventure is complete without a trip around the farm in the mule. Gavin said the mule is used to "drive around your farm and look at it." He looked around the farm, picked beautiful wild flowers for me, and came back to tell me all about his adventure.

The Bruisers

About Me

Happy mom, happy wife, happy life. I'm a mom who sees that the daily challenges and blessings of parenting far supersedes what I expected. I'm a wife who sees 'for better or for worse' in a whole new light. I'm a neonatal ICU nurse who sees daily that the miracle of life is a gift from God.

Steve

My husband, my love. The ying to my yang. Famous quote "Hey Steve, can you help me clean up around the house?" "But, Gretch, you're so good at it. We're a team, we both shouldn't be good at the same thing, right?" He's the proud pappa of his four boys. He enjoys adding to the rough and tumbliness of the household!

Harrison

My little man Harrison. He's a rowdy nine year old who loves everything "boy." Every stage since his birth has been my favorite. But now, really, I think the 8 year old stage is the best. Really.

Gavin

My middle son Gavin, Gi-Gi, or Geedge is my fiercely independent six year old. His mantra is 'I can do it by myself.' Sometimes this is at the expense of his safety and much to his dismay Mom and Dad have to intervene. But, at the end of the day he still needs his Momma to snuggle and scratch his back. I happily oblige.

Cannon

My youngest and rowdiest! son, Cannon. At the age of three he has grown into true a true Bergman Bruiser adding to the rough and tumbliness of our home.

Quintin

Our latest and greatest Bruiser. Quin joining our family officially enters us into the 'buttload of kids' category and ensures that we will have a rambunctious house for many years to come.